Hypericaceae Wildflowers

Flowers of the hypericaceae (St John's wort) family are radially symmetric, usually formed of five overlapping sepals (fused at the base), five unfused petals, one pistil (toped by a three-pronged style) and many stamens, which may be partly grouped into three to five clusters. A few species have four sepals and four petals. Leaves are whorled or opposite, and undivided; they are often dotted with small glands. Flowers are colored orange or yellow, occasionally pink. There are nine genera in the hypericaceae family but just one in the US (hypericum), with 70 species, of which only around six are found in the west of the country.